Such an exciting premise with poor execution. I usually enjoy YA very much but this was just blah to me. And the characters were very annoying. Didn't enjoy it at all.

I’ll be very honest, if this wasn’t an arc I would’ve dnfed it for sure. I already tried reading it months ago and couldn’t get into it and when I tried again I still struggled a lot.

The story starts very slow, too slow. I was confused, bored and not at all invested. Which for a thriller, definitely isn’t a good thing. I also couldn’t connect with the main character, making me even less invested.

By the time it picks up, I already didn’t care anymore. I think if it picked up a bit earlier it would’ve worked so much better. I just wish it didn’t take so long for it to get good.

One positive thing from this book is that I think the author dealt with the heavier topics of this book very well.

Overall this definitely had a lot of potential, but the execution failed for me. I think this book could work for a lot of people if they went into it with the right expectations, but personally I just didn’t enjoy it.

i think i just had different expectations going into this book. i would’ve enjoyed this more if i was in high school but as i’ve gotten older i just didn’t connect to the book as much.

This is exactly what I want to see in slasher-esque thrillers. It was nearly perfect and I loved the way the story unfolded over the course of the book.

Sloan and Cherry are the sole survivors of a summer camp massacre. Months later, they are inseparable. As the only survivors, no one else knows what they went through or what they're dealing with in the aftermath. They spend hours digging online for information about the case much to the disappointment of Sloan's mother who wishes that Sloan could move on (and hopefully away from her dependence on Cherry). When new evidence becomes public, Sloan becomes fixated on the "why" of it all and she also begins to wonder if the one person who knows exactly what she went through might know even more than she's letting on.

If you're looking for a psychological thriller with an unreliable narrator and some twists and turns, this is a good choice. Dugan does a good job of crafting a story where the reader, much like Sloan, isn't sure who or what to believe.

It took me awhile to get into this story, but once I was more invested it was a very quick read. There were some issues that I had with the story, including the way Sloan's mother dealt with her daughter's trauma. Instead of sending her to an actual therapist, she elects to send her to some sort of hypnotherapist who wants Sloan to deal with her trauma through hypnotism. Her mother also seems to think that all Sloan needs is to get back to "normal" and that will fix everything.

Despite those issues, the book was an enjoyable read, even if it wasn't exactly what I thought I was getting when I picked up this ARC.

2 stars!

I was really excited for this book because I love the final girl trope and was excited for the queer relationship representation. I didn't feel like the way that trauma was portrayed in this novel was very appropriate and the actions at the end of the book were absolutely awful. It was unfortunate that the main relationship had two characters who felt like they were toxic for each other. And again...the end!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Trauma and PTSD seemed poorly represented here. I’m just not a fan of the “victim of violent crime becomes violent criminal as result of her trauma” -trope.

Unfortunately, I’m pretty disappointed in the book. The concept seemed amazing, the execution was sadly not my thing at all. Maybe it’s a matter of taste, but it wasn’t for me.

I received this book for free for an honest unbiased review from Netgalley.

I struggled with this one. I finished but barely.

Jenniger Dugan's previous novel - Some Girls Do - was one of my top reads of last year, so I was so excited for this book.

Seeing her write out a slasher that she so artfully took inspiration from 80's slashers.

While it took a bit for the book to take off, I was still engulfing this book like it was my first time reading anything by her. Excited and enjoying every crumb she was laying down.

I love the queer representation that Dugan so beautifully writes about in her books - and this one was just as gorgeous,

I already cannot wait for Dugan's next book for me to devour,

This was book was a roller coaster of emotions. Because of the unreliable narrator, I was constantly trying to figure out what was true and what wasn't. I gave this three stars. I felt like sometimes the the book was dragging on, especially in the beginning. I really liked the ending

I gave this book a 4.5. I read a book not long ago with a similar premise, a killer, a camp, and the last girl. I hated that she never fully recovered her memories. I wanted to find out the truth. Of course, Cherry always told her the truth.

It was a wild ride that ended with a bang. There were a few loose ends that I wish were clearer, but overall it was a solid read for a young adult mystery horror novel.

I was lucky enough to be gifted this book for my birthday, so even though I was not able to read this eBook version, I still got to read this! It was a good read. I enjoyed my time while reading this one. I will for sure check out other books by this author. The ending was solid and can be good for discussions in book clubs.

This one is a tough one for me. While I did enjoy the act of reading it & I was genuinely intrigued by the first 2/3 of the book… the last bit fell short for me. I found myself with more questions than answers and the pacing felt a bit rushed at the end. I do think it was perfect for spooky season but it just wasn’t my favorite overall.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I love Jennifer Dugan but this one fell flat for me. It wasn't what I expected. I was hoping for more of a teen slasher with romance. I wanted it to be more about the massacre at the camp but it was more about the trauma after the fact. That was interesting but not what I expected. The book also didn't end the way I had expected it to, which I guess is a good thing because I didn't see it coming. There were moments I enjoyed but a lot that I just didn't feel a connection towards. That being said, I'm still glad I read it. Just wish it had been more of the horror.

content warning: death/murder, violence, suicidal thoughts, toxic relationship

I haven't read many queer YA books but I was intrigued by the summer camp setting as well as the book being a psychological thriller. I enjoyed the premise of this book but since I have read a few others that are similar (the murder mystery camp setting has been done quite a bit, my favorite was Sager's The Last Time I Lied) this book struggled to hold my full attention. I understand that I am probably not the targeted audience but I still enjoyed being able to read this one!

I love final girl books, so I really wanted to like this one but I didn’t from the beginning. I found both Sloan and Cherry very annoying. I was interested in the cult aspect, but it wasn’t used in a good way at all. The ending was also awful! You could’ve just made Sloan go crazy without killing Cherry too! There were way too many questions that didn’t get answered.

amazing premise—wish it was executed better! 😕

the premise of this book is just TOO good. I really wish there were more flashbacks throughout and the reveals were spread out a little differently. Cherry and Sloan were soooo toxic but I actually found their dynamic refreshing for a YA book. The ending to me felt super rushed and wanted more of a resolution. I will say this book had be guessing until the very end and kept me engaged throughout.

I would probably give this about 3⭐️ still. I think Jennifer is an amazing/talented writer who I am hoping continues in this genre because there is so much potential!!

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I am a huge final girls trope fan! I always request any books that fall into this category. I loved how this one did but also had its own spin to it. It was a little slow to start but it picked up and I didn’t want to put it down!

The last girls standing by Jennifer Dugan is a queer Ya thriller and it was one of my most anticpaited reads for the month of August but in November I just now got to it! Sorry Penguin Teen! But before I give u my full thoughts I want to say thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me a e-arc & physical arc, all thoughts and opions are my own!

Let's begin the review shall we?? So this is a ya thriller debut and I was really looking forward to reading it but tbh it was kind of a let down for me! I still enjoyed it so don't get me wrong but I gave it a 3.5/5 stars and I think it might've been the audiobook fault because it wasn't adding in the creepy factor that I wanted.
What I did enjoyed was the queer rep we had and our two main characters, also there was a shocking twist that I didn't see coming! So we follow our two main characters Solan & Cherry and they are complete strangers until they both go to this summer camp out in the woods. What could go wrong?? So this is also a slasher story with a killer on the loose and so solan lost her memory and cherry is with her to help her gain her memories back, there was some intense scene between the two ladies because if u didn't know they are a couple in this book!

The ending was problaly my favorite part of the book because I wasn't excpeting a character to die in this even though its a ya thriller! I overall gave it 3.5/5 stars. Sad this is my lowest rating by this author but looking forward to reading more from Jennifer Dugan! Once again thank u to penguin teen for sending me an e-arc and a physical arc and I can't wait to contiune working with you guys! Happy reading!!(:

I absolutely loved this book. It's the first book I've read with an unreliable narrator, and it was a very fun ride. I was questioning and theorizing right up to the very end. It was not what I expected, but in the best way.